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The Dollar

This is something I thought I'd toss on here while I'm finishing up another short story.

This is a script that I actually filmed twice, once as a mostly silent film and again as a completely silent film. Sadly, neither version exists. Hard drives crashing can be a bitch, since I was really happy with the second one.

INT - UNKNOWN LOCATION

CLOSE ON a desk.

Two hands slap a wrinkled dollar bill on the desk.

They ably tape the two pieces together, flip the bill over and tape the other side.

CLOSE ON the hands putting a stack of cash and the "dollar" in a deposit envelope.

I/E. CAR - NIGHT

CLOSE ON the hands driving--steering--with the deposit envelope in one hand.

EXT. BANK NIGHT DEPOSIT - NIGHT

CLOSE ON the hands depositing the envelope in the night deposit slot.

Track back to see a HOBO sleeping outside the bank.

LONG SHOT of the hobo sleeping on his bench.

The depositor gets back in his car and pulls out of the bank driveway, driving away.

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

The car speeds away, waking the hobo.

He gets up and walks.

EXT - CENTER STREET - NIGHT

The hobo walks down the downtown street in the fog...

FADE OUT:

EXT. PARK - MORNING

The hobo sleeps on a park bench.

A bird chirps, once again waking him.

EXT. BANK - MORNING

An SUV pulls up to the bank drive-thru. The DRIVER is rich, a jocular swine sort of fellow.

He's making a withdraw.

DRIVERMy account number is 188409. I need to withdraw...

INSERT a computer screen with a web page advertising the SUPER BASS-O-MATIC TK-421 bass car stereo system at the local S-Mart. It costs $354.

DRIVER (Cont'd)...Three Hundred and fifty four dollars.

I/E. SUV - CONTINUOUS

He waits patiently...

We hear the tube going...

He gets his money...

TELLER(filtered)Thank you for banking with us,have a nice day.

On the top of the stack of cash he gets is the wrinkled, filthy dollar.

The driver pays no mind yet...

He drives away from the bank and plays his bass-filled music far too loud.

He counts his money, finally taking noticing the dollar.

His face recoils in disgust and he lets out an annoyed sigh.

In an act of sheer hatred for this torn dollar, he tosses the bill away, out the window of his SUV.

EXT. CITY STREET - MORNING

The HOBO is walking as the SUV whizzes past him.

The dollar bill floats out of the window, hits the street and blows into the gutter.

It creeps up over the curb and rolls over the hobo's feet. He looks down at it and his face brightens.

He picks it up and continues his walk.

INT. COFFEE SHOP

The hobo uses the dollar to buy himself a warm cup of coffee.

He sits in the window and enjoys the warmth while drinking it.

EXT. CITY STREET

The hobo walks toward the horizon, hands in his pockets, starting another day...

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About Me

Bryan Young works across many different media. As an author, he's written the bestselling comedic novel Lost at the Con, and the critically acclaimed sci-fi adventure Operation: Montauk. As a film producer, his last two films were released by The Disinformation Company and were called “filmmaking gold” by The New York Times. He’s also published comic books with Slave Labor Graphics and Image Comics. He’s a contributor for the Huffington Post, StarWars.Com, Star Wars Insider and the founder and editor in chief of the geek news and review site Big Shiny Robot! He's also the host of the popular podcast "Full of Sith."